Last residence, shelter!
by Mine de Crayon
Summary: A very strange investigation came to the precinct when Kate's pregnancy ended.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone, I am proud today to present my new fic. **

**This fic is rather special for me in that it is inspired by a text I wrote when I was younger and which was for me the discovery of writing.**

**I hope you will enjoy it and once again, feel free to post reviews!**

* * *

Chapter 1

"Castle", Kate said as she poured coffee into two cups, "how many times do I have to remind you that I'm neither handicapped nor sick? I'm just pregnant so I don't need to be covered! I'm not a weak and fragile little thing that has to have a bodyguard at every step she takes outside. I remind you that I'm a captain of the NYPD and as such, I can take care of myself without anyone's help."

"I know, but let me remind you, you're manufacturing our kid, a little, tiny and cute human being! So, making sure you're as good as you can be is the least, I can do. Even though I know this may be annoying to you, I will always do everything for your well-being and the well-being of our child."

"You have to make a difference between making sure I'm okay and covering myself up like you've been doing since you found out I was pregnant."

"Kate, you have to understand that you are doing a pretty dangerous job, so I have to make sure, as your husband, that you don't pull too much on the rope. I know you're an independent woman, but it's a part of who I am."

"Rick, I have to admit that although it's a little annoying sometimes, I find it quite heartwarming and that's one of the things that makes me love you and one of the reasons why I decided to have this kid with you."

"If you want, sweetheart, I can make an effort and try to be as inconvenient as possible so that all of us can live this situation until the birth as comfortable as possible. Nevertheless, I cannot promise you the moon and I will always remain the man I am deep down inside of my heart."

"I'm willing for you to try to make some effort. Anyway, I'm going to have to get used to it since I'm stuck with you now that we're having a child."

At that moment, the young woman's phone rang. The captain shared a few words with her interlocutor and then hung up.

"Well", explained Kate, "we'll continue this discussion later. There's been a murder in Manhattan!"

* * *

Kate and her husband drove to the place they had been told was the crime scene and after a few minutes by car they arrived at a stray animal shelter in front of which Ryan and Esposito were waiting for them.

"I have only one question to ask you", Rick requested from his two friends, "you brought us here to buy a dog? You know we're having a child which means we don't need an animal!"

"Very funny Castle", replied Esposito, "this morning the shelter vet came to check the condition of the animals and she saw this!"

The four of them had arrived in front of a cage in which a man was lying naked, with his back on a bed of straw. From the outside, there were no injuries. If they did not know that the person in front of them had died, they might have thought that the man was just sleeping. When Lanie saw them arrive in front of the cage, she stopped examining the body and went to summarize her expertise to her friends.

"So, our victim's name is Scott West, aged 38, and he's a former employee of the shelter. He died last night at approximately ten o'clock. As for the cause of death, I'd lean towards poison. Indeed, traces of injection were found. Anyway, I'll know more when I examine him at the morgue."

"Have you been able to determine if the victim was murdered here?" Interrogated Kate

"For the moment", answered the medical examiner, "I can't claim either side. Once again, I'll know more at the morgue."

"Ryan and Esposito", inquired Beckett, "were you able to see if there are any surveillance cameras on the shelter grounds?"

"According to the shelter director, there are about a dozen of them all over the area." Stated Ryan by reading the notes he had taken. "There is a particularly interesting one that is located just at the only entrance to the shelter."

"By the way", continued Esposito, "the shelter director is waiting for you in her office in the main building. Apparently, she would have information for you!"

The couple walked up to the director's office, unknowingly that these few words with this man would completely turn upside down the investigation.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The minute they walked into the office, they found themselves facing a woman who looked at them with a combination of anger, hatred and determination. She welcomed them into a cold and rather austere office with posters of the shelter and pictures of animals on the walls. She scanned them from bottom to top and then urged them with a wave of her hand to sit on the two chairs in front of her desk.

"Well, now that you're here", the young woman said in a voice stained with darkness, "I must inform you that I know how to find the murderer."

"What do you mean?" Kate enquired

Before answering this question, the young woman grabbed a bottle of vodka from a drawer, used a full glass and then drank it in one go.

"Let's start with the beginning of the story. Scott first joined the shelter team two years ago as a groomer and assistant veterinarian and I must admit that he was excellent at his job. Everyone in the shelter loved him, whether it was other employees, customers or even animals. Everything was perfect until about a year ago."

"What exactly happened a year ago?" Beckett asked.

"A year ago, he changed a lot. He started to become aggressive towards the different clients and towards some members of the team, including me. He was also extremely self-contained. As a result, I began to question the reasons for this change and about three months ago, I asked a IT technician to look at the computer he was using in the office. That's when I discovered that he had joined the group Let's Abolish Shelters."

"Can you describe to us the nature of this group?" Castle asked, more and more interested in what the woman in front of them was saying.

"So, the Let's Abolish Shelters group was created two or three years ago by a Joe James Lee, a former veterinarian." The young woman explained before getting up to get a file on her desk. "It is a violent group whose purpose is to protect the animal cause and more specifically, to free all animals in shelters. When I learned of the causes to which Scott had sworn allegiance, I decided to fire him. That was a month ago, so if you want to find out who killed Scott West's killer, you must look at this group. I have compiled all the information I have found in this file for you."

"Why do you personally consider that Mr. West's death is related to this particular group?" Beckett asked

"It' s simple because it' s a very violent group. They usually come to vandalize all the shelters. I can name a dozen shelters in which they have vandalized everything."

"Well, thank you for this information." Kate concluded. "We will just need you to provide to an officer all the computer equipment that Mr. West used in his work."

"Of course, Captain. I hope you will quickly shed light on what happened."

As she left the shelter director's office, Kate sent a message to Esposito asking him to do some research on the director of the "Let's Abolish Shelters! "and then the couple went back to the police station.

* * *

When they arrived at the precinct, Kate and Rick settled in the captain's office before being called by Ryan and Esposito who asked them to join them in the computer room where Vikram was already installed. At that moment, Vikram launched a surveillance video tape in front of them. We could see the entrance to the shelter grounds.

"So", Vikram explained, "the video you're watching is set last night around nine p.m. and watch what's going on at that time."

It was at that moment that they saw two people whose faces were hidden by hoods discreetly walking in. Very quickly, the two people lifted their hoods and the police recognized the victim with another person.

"Have you been able to identify the person who is with the victim?" Castle asked

"Guess who it is? This is Joe James Lee, the creator of the group to which our victim is said to have pledged allegiance!" Ryan answered

"Well, now, it's going to be fast and simple enough: I want you to get him to the precinct as soon as possible!" Kate ordered her detectives in a determined manner

"Unfortunately," Ryan continued, "he's already at the precinct. Indeed, he was found dead last night a hundred meters from the shelter. He was murdered with two bullets in his head and Lanie is finishing her autopsy at the morgue."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Well, this is getting much more complicated!" Rick said to summarize what they all thought. "I guess that now we'll have to find another suspect."

"Right now," Kate said as she was thinking aloud, "we will need to interview the rest of the group members. Vikram, check Scott West and Joe James Lee's connections to see if they had any contacts in common. Ryan and Esposito check out the lives of our two victims. Me and Rick are going to the morgue."

* * *

Rick and his wife headed directly to the morgue where Lanie was concluding the autopsy.

"So, who do you want us to start with?" Lanie asked "The first or the second victim?"

"Well, logically, I suggest we start with the first one!" Kate replied

"So, as I told you this morning, he was killed around ten o'clock. I was able to establish the cause of death: we caused him to OD. Indeed, I found traces on his esophagus that would prove that a tube was pushed down his throat to administer a mixture of drugs, including sedatives."

"Are we sure he didn't take them on his own?" Rick interrogated

"Yes, he certainly didn't take them on his own. Indeed, he took too much of it and after taking half the pills, he should already have fallen into a coma. I also discovered that our victim was put in the cage after he died. Nevertheless, I couldn't be more specific about the crime scene."

"What about the second victim?" Kate wondered

"He was shot twice in the head and died." Lanie said as she stood next to the second victim. "He died on the spot, but the most interesting thing is that there are some signs of struggle on his arms and scratches. I'll see if I can extract any DNA from the person who attacked him."

"Very good!" Kate concludes thoughtfully "This does not provide us with much information on the identity of the murderer of these two victims."

"I'll do what I can, I'll call you back if I have any more information, especially if I can find any DNA."

"Lanie, thank you so much!" Rick answered

"By the way," Lanie said as she moved closer to her two friends, "you know that maybe you should do a little less on this case. You could delegate. I mean, you're going to give birth in less than a month to my goddaughter so it might be a good idea to slow down a little bit and do some paperwork in your office until the birth."

"So, the two of you, I'm going to tell you different things." Kate said, starting slowly to rise in tension. "First of all, I'd like to remind you that I hate paperwork, so no! Secondly, I am a woman, so I have always had to prove that I was the best person to reach my position. That's how I work! Third, I am smart enough to know when to stop or delegate to protect my daughter."

"Kate, you don't always have to be strong!" Lanie said to her friends "You're the best and everyone knows you are! But I know you'll always do anything to protect your child, so if you tell me it's okay, I trust you!"

* * *

When Kate came back from the morgue, she sat in front of the whiteboard to debrief with her detectives on what they had found. Kate started the meeting:

"So, Vikram, did you manage to identify any common contacts between our two victims or other members of the group?"

"To be honest, that was pretty easy." The IT expert explained "I was able to connect to a server used by the different members of the group to communicate with each other. Nevertheless, most of them used pseudonyms, but I was able to identify two people: a Greg Holloway and a Lynn Parks. I asked some rookies to pick them up."

"Ok!" The young captain responded "Keep going this way and see if you can identify some other members. So, Ryan and Esposito, did you manage to find any information about the lives of our two victims?"

"Who do you want to start with?" Kate asked. "First or second victim?"

"First!" Kate quickly decided "Let's start at the beginning!"

"Scott West was born in Kansas and grew up in a peasant family." Esposito recounted "At the age of 17, he went to the University of Kansas to become a veterinarian. The strange thing is that he had a brilliant university career, but the day before his final exam, he left and moved to New York where he started working as an employee in animal shelter. Other than that, he's never married, has no children and we don't know him as a known affair."

"Concerning Joe James Lee, the second victim, we have a lot more information." Ryan continued. "He was born in a rich Texas family, the James Lee, who runs a large oil company. He grew up in Dallas and did brilliant studies in veterinary science. He founded his own clinic shortly after in Los Angeles, married a famous jetsetter and had two children. Nevertheless, exactly two and a half years ago, he left everything: women, children and clinics and moved to New York to create his group "Let's abolish shelters! " whose main success is setting fire to a New Jersey shelter."

"Do we have any idea why he gave up his whole life?" Rick asked

"No, we don't have any information." Ryan answered. "We were able to phone the victim's ex-wife and she was unable to answer us."

"Perfect!" Kate concluded. "Well, right now, we really need to interview the other members of the group. If our two victims walked into the shelter yesterday, it should be for a good reason! We absolutely need to find out why!"

* * *

An hour after that, cops brought the two members of the group they had identified into the meeting room. Ryan, who had been asked to question them, found himself facing a tall blonde woman and a skinny little man. He sat down in front of them and began to question them.

"So, do you recognize that you are part of the anti-shelters group?"

"Yes, we do!" They said at the same time

"When did you join this group?" Interrogated Ryan

"I joined the group one year ago." The young man replied. "She first became a member of the group six months ago."

"You should know that we are not going to question you about the various incidents involving your group. I'm only here to solve the murders of Scott West and Joe James Lee, so where were you last night during the evening?"

"Last night, we received a message from Scott on the chat we were using asking us to meet him at the group's office around 9:00 p. m." The young woman explained. "Apparently, they had information for us and had to give it to us urgently. Nevertheless, when we arrived, there was neither Scott nor Joe. So, we went to a bar for a drink and split up around two in the morning."

"Were you aware of what they intended to inform you?"

"This morning we realized that Scott had sent a study on the group's chat two weeks ago." The young man replied. "Apparently, there were seven times more animal deaths in the shelter he had worked for than in the rest of the shelters."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

After hearing about this from Ryan and finding the shelter documents in the first victim's computer, Kate took her jacket and took a few steps to go talk to the shelter owner, but her husband stopped her outright.

"Kate, we'll take care of this tomorrow!" The writer said while taking his own jacket. "You're pregnant, it would be better for us to go home, I'll give you a little massage to relax you and you can think about the investigation in a nice bath! Before you say anything, I know you want to rush to interview the director without thinking about your own health, but it's my job to think about your health when you don't! So, I suggest we take the file home and study it!"

"All right, it may make me upset, but I think you're right!" Kate replied as she took the file home. "Furthermore, when a baby will be waiting for us at home, we won't be able to work that late, so we have to practice!"

"That's a wise decision, Miss Beckett!"

* * *

When they arrived in their apartment, Kate slumped down on their couch while Rick prepared a lemongrass and berry infusion for them and then joined her with two full cups to discuss the investigation.

"The main question is to find out why they went to check why there were so many animal deaths overnight!" Rick asked

"There must have been something special that night! Otherwise, they could have just gone to the director to ask her the reason since Scott West knew her!"

"This is undoubtedly the crucial point of this investigation: Scott West was perfectly familiar with the shelter and the operating processes. It's probably because they went there at night because events were happening there!"

Kate opened the documents they had found in her computer, carefully analyzed them and then reflected on them.

"I just found something pretty interesting. Last night, a company came to evacuate the bodies of dead animals."

"Do we know where the corpses are being transported to?"

"Apparently, according to the various contracts on Scott West's computer, the bodies are sent to Montreal, Canada!"

"So, this morning, a truck full of dead animals left New York for Montreal? It's the best idea in the world if you want to send something to Canada: no customs officer is going to check a bunch of dead animals! Do we know which company handles the transport of animals?"

"A company named DMG Transit." Kate said as she was reading the documents on her computer. "It is headed by a Pietro Domingo!"

"Do we have any information on this man?"

"I'll check the NYPD database." She looked at her computer for a moment. "So, according to the anti-gang squad, Domingo is known to be a close relative of the Versini family, which is one of the big mafia families in New York! He's been arrested about ten times for drug trafficking!"

"We now need to establish the link between the Versini family and the shelter. This link is probably the reason for the death of our two friends! I know who can tell us about the link: the shelter director!"

"That's the best idea!"

"You know, it was for those moments that I decided to have a child with you! You know I love you, right?"

"Yeah because I love you too!"

* * *

The next morning, at the earliest hour, Kate and Rick arrived in front of the shelter manager's office.

"Ma'am, we have a few questions to ask you!" Kate began

"Yes, of course! Make yourself comfortable!"

"We would need some information!" Kate asked. "First, how do you explain the fact that there are many more animal deaths in your shelter than in other shelters in New York?"

"I have no idea. I don't know anything about that. You should ask the chief veterinarian, David Wharton. He oversees everything related to animals, whether it is their health or the treatment of dead animals. I mainly deal with administrative aspects such as accounting or recruitment."

"How long has David Wharton been working with you?" Rick questioned

"For ten years, he was there when the shelter was created. He is the one who implemented all the processes that are in place here!"

"And where can we find David Wharton at the moment?" Rick asked

"I have absolutely no idea." The owner of the shelter explained. "I have to tell you, he sent me his resignation letter this morning!"

"Fine, ma'am! If you have any contact with David Wharton of any kind, you should let the NYPD know!"

* * *

Kate rushed to her car before calling her lieutenants to ask them to do as much research as possible on David Wharton. It was at this point that the young woman received a call from Lanie.

"Kate, I'm calling to tell you that I managed to identify the DNA that was under the second victim's fingernails!"

"Whose is the DNA?"

"An Antonio Versini. What is interesting about this person is that he is the son of one of the big mafia families in the city, but ten years ago he disappeared completely until last night."

"Fuck, we're finally solving the puzzle but we're still missing the central piece of the puzzle!"

Kate hung up and went back to the precinct. When she arrived in front of the whiteboard, she had a direct backward movement.

"Ryan and Esposito, I think you made a mistake in the pictures: you installed two pictures of David Wharton!"

"No, I didn't!" Ryan defended himself. "This is a picture of David Wharton and the other one is a picture of Antonio Versini!"

"That's the element we were missing, David Wharton is Antonio Versini!" Kate reacted. "By the way, what information did you find out about David Wharton?"

"Nothing until ten years ago!" Ryan answered. "He appeared at that time and started directly as a veterinarian in the shelter."

"What the hell is going on in this shelter?" Kate questioned herself


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

A few minutes after she realized the link between the Versini family and David Wharton and after she asked her detectives to do some research on Antonio Versini and Pietro Domingo, Kate gathered her entire team in her office to debrief the information they had collected.

"So, can you give me a summary of Antonio and Pietro's lives?" Kate asked

"I'll start with Antonio Versini!" Ryan started. "So, our young friend is the second son of Giacomo Versini, the undisputed and indisputable leader of the New York mafia. Nevertheless, unlike the rest of his family, he has always tried to stay out of any kind of crime. At the age of 18, he left New York to study at the Los Angeles School of Science. However, the day before he submitted his thesis on animal health, he disappeared! According to the police file at the time, he took all his stuff one morning and never showed up again! I think that at that time, the police did not want to push the investigations too far to give Antonio Versini a chance to run away and start a new life!"

"So that's why he had the ability to perform as a veterinarian for the shelter: he was almost a graduate!" Castle noticed. "If the police were right and he really wanted to escape from his family, it was the most appropriate activity to choose."

"Indeed, it's quite logical!" Kate answered. "However, the strange thing is that if he really wanted to escape his status as a member of a Mafia family, why not go to the other side of the country and why would he remain in New York City?"

"Probably a pretty basic survival reflex!" Castle explained. "The fact of changing his identity completely and cutting off everything he had ever known would surely have been more comfortable if he knew he was staying in the same environment!"

"I will now tell you about the second man in the team: Pietro Domingo!" Esposito continued. "Pietro is Giacomo Versini's nephew. Unfortunately, at the age of five, the young boy lost both his parents in a car accident. He was then welcomed by Giacomo Versini who considered him as his own son. Unlike his cousin Antonio, Pietro had a poor school career, which he stopped at the age of 16 in order to get involved in the clan's activities. He was arrested nearly 10 times for drug trafficking or pimping. Moreover, according to the anti-gang brigade, he never made it up the clan hierarchy!"

"Do we know if they've always been connected since Antonio's disappearance or if they've found each other accidentally?" Castle asked

"I made a phone call with an old friend of mine who has been undercover within the Versini family for several years." Esposito answered. "According to him, it is impossible that the two men remained in contact after Antonio Versini's disappearance since they have always cordially hated each other, and Domingo has always been extremely jealous of Versini! However, I found one extremely interesting element. Indeed, I learned from my contact that a year and a half ago, Domingo bought a small dog from a shelter. The shelter in question was the one where Antonio Versini worked!"

"Then, it's extremely easy!" Rick began by explaining his theory. "A year and a half ago, Domingo bought a dog and at that moment he saw Antonio Versini aka David Wharton in the room. He recognized him directly and between them, Pietro decided to blackmail Antonio by forcing him to use his function to allow him to bring drugs or medication to Canada!"

"Except at one point, he didn't have enough bodies to fill the trucks Domingo was asking for!" Kate continued to explain as she followed the path of her husband's thought. "To avoid Domingo telling the truth, he will start increasing the number of dead animals by poisoning them, which Scott West will do."

"That's why he completely changed his behavior: he must have seen his boss poisoning an animal!" Castle told the team. "So, he's going to quit the shelter and that's when he's going to want to show Jo James Lee what's going on at the shelter. So, they're going to break into the building and see what was going on!"

"That's when Domingo and Versini will notice them! In fact, Scott West was probably seen in the first place and then they poisoned him with the drugs used to kill animals!"

"Then they found Jo James Lee and executed him!"

"It's been a long time since they've done the thing of building theories together!" Ryan pointed out to Esposito. "I almost missed it!"

"I agree, I nearly missed it too!" Javier answered. "Besides, now that we have the motive for the murder, how do we apprehend them?"

"To find out where they are, I have an idea!" Ryan replied. "According to Pietro Domingo's inheritance documents, his parents owned a warehouse of more than a thousand square meters in the Bronx. They probably took refuge there and that's probably where they store the drugs."

"All right, Ryan and Esposito, prepare an operation from this warehouse." Kate ordered her detectives. "We're going to go arrest our two little friends!"

Castle waited until the two detectives had left the room, closed the door and then approached his wife to talk to her.

* * *

"Kate, are you planning on participating in this operation?"

"Of course, I will participate! This is my investigation; I'll take care of it from start to end!"

"Kate, stop messing with me! You're pregnant! You're not going to participate in this operation, knowing you're going to have a baby in two weeks! You'll take over the investigations when you give birth! It's not the end of the world, it's only two weeks!"

"Rick, I won't let you give me orders. I'm more than qualified to make that kind of decision and I remind you that of the two of us, I'm the cop!"

"Right!" Kate answered, sore at what her husband was saying. "I agree to take a step back on this case, but you promise me that then I can resume?"

"I promise!"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

In front of the large warehouse where they were going to try to apprehend the two men, Ryan and Esposito were focused. Even though they were surrounded by a whole squad of over-trained men, they both knew that the slightest mistake could cost them a lot.

The two men were waiting with the SWAT members until they would receive an indication that they could enter the building when suddenly they received a warning on their earpiece that the operation was about to begin. The swarm of armed men entered the warehouse, dispersing extremely quickly in order to explore every corner of the building.

Very quickly, Ryan noticed a closed door at the back of the building. He called two SWAT members with a head movement and the two men positioned themselves on both sides of the door to ensure enough coverage for Ryan's safety. Kevin took a deep breath to clear his head and then opened the door with a kick on the lock.

The three men arrived at that time in a place that had obviously been arranged as an apartment, with two beds, a dining table, a small corner arranged as a bathroom and a kitchen range to prepare meals.

Very quickly, after they had looked over the whole room, they realized that they could see feet exceeding two beds. The three officers positioned their weapons towards the beds and then Ryan took his frightening voice and ordered them to get out from under the bed and put their hands above their heads, which the two men quickly did.

"Antonio Versini and Pietro Domingo, you are under arrest for drug trafficking and for the murders of Scott West and Joe James Lee." Ryan said in an authoritative voice. "Anything you say can be used against you in court. You have the right to talk to a lawyer for advice before we ask you any questions. You have the right to have a lawyer with you during questioning. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed for you before any questioning if you wish. If you decide to answer questions now without a lawyer present, you have the right to stop answering at any time."

"You're completely about the whole story!" Antonio Versini said with a loud voice. "I did absolutely nothing wrong in this case! I want to make it clear that I did not commit any drug trafficking or the two murders you accuse me of!"

"Sir, you'll say that when we question you!" Ryan replied, handcuffing the young man. "We'll see what you did while in custody."

The two detectives returned to the precinct with the two men they were holding in handcuffs near them. They put them in two separate cells and then Ryan took Antonio Versini to the interrogation room for Kate to question him.

"Hello mister Versini!" The captain said as she entered the room. "I suppose you've been explained why you were brought here, haven't you?"

"I prefer to be called by the name I've been using for quite a while, David Wharton, and yes, I understood well why you arrested me!"

"Do you acknowledge the facts for which you are here?"

"Absolutely not! I can tell you that it has been ten years since I fled my family, that I have changed my life and that I am standing by to be a model citizen! I've done absolutely nothing illegal; I've never even been speeding! Therefore, I guarantee you with all my strength and conviction that this is all just a simple misunderstanding!"

"So, if, as you say, they're just misunderstandings, how do you explain the fact that two bodies were found?"

"First of all, I'd like us to start at the beginning of the story! You should know that when I decided to leave the family, the only link I kept with my old life was Pietro. He has always supported my project and we have put in place a plan together so that I can exfiltrate myself. Nevertheless, to ensure our mutual security, we pretended to be in bad relationships. So, I disappeared and became David Wharton. Pietro found me fake papers and documents so that I could create this new identity!"

"That's how you became a veterinarian for the shelter?"

"Exactly! We discovered this position in a newspaper, so I started this job, I found a new place to live! A that moment, for my safety, we decided to cut ties with each other! We continued our lives apart! Nevertheless, a year ago, Pietro came to the shelter on the pretext of being looking for a dog and he told me he needed my help!"

"He needed your help to ship the drug to Canada, doesn't he?"

"No, absolutely not! He told me he just joined a charity which brought migrants to Canada. All what we did was hiding them in trucks to offer them the possibility of a new life, as Pietro did for me a couple of years before!"

"Is that why you poisoned animals?"

"No, we didn't poison any animals! We just modified spreadsheets! The goal was mainly to make the shelters allow the shipments to Canada!"

"How do you explain the fact that we discovered two dead bodies? They died of a gigantic flu, didn't they?"

"No, they didn't! That night, the truck Pietro was driving entered the shelter through the loading area. The migrants were already onboard! I went to sign all the administrative shipment documents next to the truck and at that moment, Jo James Lee and Scott West came to us! They needed to have an explanation on the reasons why the animal's death rate was so high! We straight shown them the spreadsheets and the migrants in the truck."

"How did they react?"

"They were silent for a while and then, they understood what we did and the reasons why we were doing it!"

"So, if I follow the path of your logic, you are really going to tell me Scott West and Jo James Lee really had a gigantic flu!"

"No, that's not what I meant to say! By the time we all started helping the migrants and preparing the journey to Canada, we say a shadow walking towards us!"

"Does this shadow have an identity?"

"Of course, this shadow was my boss for many years!"

"Hold on! You mean the shadow you are talking about is the shelter's director?"

"Indeed! It was her, in the flesh! She came to us and I can swear she was fucking angry! She started yelling at us and then she even howled at us! She accused us of squandering the shelter's money and then, she drew a gun out of her pocket! I must confess that with Pietro, we run to the truck and we started it fast! You must understand what we did, we had lives of people under our responsibility!"

"Can you tell me why I should trust you?"

"Because I have a full list of all the names of the migrants, we helped building a new life in Canada! I can send it to you if that's what you want!"

"The NYPD needs that list as soon as possible! Would you have any idea of the reasons of the director's anger?"

"It's easy to understand she and Scott had a relationship together and I think I didn't end up good! I think he cheated on her or something like that! I can tell you it created a huge mess in the shelter!"

"Do you know who with he cheated on her?"

"I have no idea but based on what I remember, it was a random girl he met on a bar! I'm not going to be able to provide you more information on that specific topic!"

"Fine, thank you for those precisions!" Kate concluded before she stood up and she prepared herself to leave the room. "We will keep you in custody enough time to check all the info you gave us! A cop will come if we have other questions to ask you!"

"That's fair to me!"

Kate left the room and then, she checked with Esposito what Pietro said. Both of them said the same thing. Kate made quickly the decision to go out of the precinct and to go arrest the shelter's director. She knew it was the best solution but after all, even though she was pregnant, she remained the captain of the 12th precinct and that was her job to arrest killers.

She got on her motorcycle and headed to the shelter. When she arrived in front of the building, she noticed the only lighted windows was the one in the director's office. She had a look at the window and then she took her gun and entered in the building. She walked in the building and then arrived in front of the office.

"Captain Beckett!" The young woman said mockingly as she saw Beckett walking into her office. "I was expecting to see you entering in this office any moment now!"

"So, I guess you know why I am here!" Kate asked as she was looking in the eyes of the girl.

"Of course, I do!" The director answered with eyes full of anger. "You are here for those two craps whom I have taken their lives off of them, aren't you?"

"So, you recognize those crimes?"

"Of course, I do, captain Beckett! By the way, I suppose you don't have enough elements to arrest. Otherwise, you would not have come here alone, captain!"

"You under-estimate the level of excellence of the NYPD! Count on us to put you behind bars!" Kate said confidently. "I swear on the most precious things in my life that soon, your only friends will be the rats of the jail in which you will end your miserable life."

"You are wrong, captain!"

At that moment, the shelter's director took an electrical impulse weapon out of her pocket and shot Kate who fell on the ground.

When Kate opened her eyes, she felt directly a sensation she had been expecting for many months: she was about to give birth! Nevertheless, she smelled a vague smell of burning that began to surround her.

She quickly understood what has happened: the director had made sure she passed out long enough to erase all the evidence of her crimes by setting it on fire! Kate made an effort that seemed superhuman to her and managed to get up again. Fortunately for her, her phone had not been damaged and she directly called the precinct.

"Here the twelfth NYPD precinct!" A young rookie Kate had hired a few weeks before. "What can I do for you?"

"Agent Dames, it's the captain Beckett!" Kate began to explain while trying to maintain her authority as the contractions were more and more intense. "I need you to bring in two fire trucks and an ambulance! I am currently giving birth and I'm stuck in the shelter! The director set fire on it! Bring in the vehicles as soon as possible and warn Richard Castle!"


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

When Rick arrived in front of the shelter, he felt a wave of fear overwhelming his mind. His wife was trapped inside this building and she was going to give birth to their child. He approached the building and joined his friends who were in front of it.

"Have you been able to get new information?" Rick asked. "Have you located the shelter director?"

"No, not yet!" Ryan answered. "We've been going through her whole life and we've sent a team to search every place where she might hide but don't get your hopes up, Castle, there are thousands of places where she might hide without us ever being able to find her!"

"That's for sure!" Esposito said as he wandered his eyes over everything that was happening in front of him. "Nevertheless, I can assure you that the entire NYPD will do everything in its power to arrest her for what she did to Kate. She won't get away with it, she's got the best cops in the world on her back."

At that moment, they saw the doctors and firemen running towards the entrance of the building with a stretcher and then they saw a fireman carrying Kate in his arms to put her on the stretcher. Rick rushed to his wife, kissed her on the forehead and climbed into the ambulance with her to get to the hospital.

* * *

A few hours later, Javier, Kevin, Lanie, Alexis, Martha and Jim Beckett were gathered in the hospital waiting room. They were biting their nails, waiting for news about the condition of their friend and her baby. That's when a doctor arrived in the room.

"Who among you are the family members?" The doctor asked

They all got up because after all, Kate was for each of them a sister, a daughter, a mother. The doctor was confused but nevertheless continued his presentation.

"Miss Beckett came here with several burns, some quite superficial, others a little less so, but she had good reflexes to protect her body from the fire. Nevertheless, in order not to impose too much trauma on his body, we decided, with Mr. Castle's approval, to perform a cesarean delivery for her. I am therefore extremely happy to announce that Miss Beckett has given birth to a beautiful little girl."

"What room are they in?" Jim asked, with a broad smile on his face.

"Let me check so I don't make any mistakes!" The doctor replied while checking his patient's file. "Room 237, down the hall!"

* * *

The group rushed to room 237 and when they reached the doorway of the room, their eyes were softened by the vision they had: Kate was holding a little baby in her arms and Rick was gently leaning towards his wife, his eyes fogged with tears from emotion.

When Lanie saw this, she felt a tear running down her cheek. After many years, all the difficulties and obstacles they had to overcome, they ultimately found a way to make their love work. The baby who lived his first moments in front of her was proof of this. They all stepped towards the bed and stayed for a moment watching the scene without saying a word until Kate turned to Lanie.

"Lanie, do you want to take your goddaughter in your arms?"

"Of course, I want! Hand me this little marvel!" The young coroner took the baby in her arms. "By the way, what is the name of this treasure?"

"Well, this little treasure is called Lily Johanna Castle!" Kate replied, looking her father in the eye to watch for his reaction.

"Thank you very much both of you for the tribute you paid to Johanna!" Jim said, very moved. "Your mother would be honored to give her name to such a beautiful baby!"

* * *

Lanie, Esposito and Ryan let their friends live this moment with their family. Lanie went to buy a gift for her godchild while Ryan and Esposito decided to go back to the station to try to locate the shelter director. They had to find and apprehend the woman who had endangered Kate and her baby's life!

When they arrived at the station, they saw a woman waiting for them near the captain's office. She got up as soon as they approached her.

"Are you detectives Ryan and Esposito?" The young woman asked, obviously afraid.

"Yes, we are! How can we help you?" Ryan questioned her.

"My name is Lila Clark and my sister is Juliette Clark, the shelter director. I just read on the Internet that there was a fire in the shelter and that the police came because it was an arson attack. I quickly realized that it was probably my sister's fault. It must also be said that she has always been a bit of an arsonist."

"Do you know where she's hiding?"

"Yes, what few people know is that my sister's godfather was my father's best friend and a wealthy businessman. He passed away a few weeks ago and left my sister a large property in New Jersey. This is not yet apparent in my sister's properties since the succession took place barely a week ago."

"Do you know the address of this property?"

"Yes, take it!" She handed them a small piece of paper on which was written the address of the house where the young woman was surely hidden.

Ryan and Esposito arrived at the house after an hour. They directly discovered the young woman, arrested her and then placed her in a cell at the post office.

"Miss, I have to tell you something I ask you not to forget!" Esposito said coldly as he threw the young woman into a cell. "I may be a nice person, but miss, you put Kate Beckett and her baby's life in danger. So, you should be assured that I will do everything in my power to make your life worse as long as I am a citizen of this city and a police officer."

* * *

The next day, after ten hours of interrogation, Ryan finally received a confession from the shelter director. She had always kept a certain jealousy towards Scott West that she had never forgiven for cheating on her and then leaving her. When she saw him, she also thought they were related to the loss of money caused by the fact that too many trucks were going to Canada. She had first poisoned Scott West with the pills used to euthanize the animals before executing in the alley Jo James Lee who had witnessed the death of his friend.

* * *

A few days later, Lanie went to the Castle loft to see her best friend who was back home. As she entered, she immediately saw Kate lying on her couch, her daughter sleeping on her stomach. When the young mother saw her best friend, she smiled and asked her with a wave of her hand to sit on the couch with her.

"So?" Lanie asked as she looked at the little baby, tenderized. "How are your first days as a mother going?"

"It's perfect! She is just perfect! She is very calm; she spends her time observing the world as if it were the most extraordinary thing in the world. Everything seems the most extraordinary thing when you see them through his eyes."

"That's for sure! I wonder when we stopped seeing the world as babies see it!"

"I wonder too! She has such innocence in her eyes that I wonder how we could have become like that? At what point in history did it go wrong for some of us to start hurting other people!"

"First of all, could you please stop thinking about New York's crime rate? You have a little girl and right now, she is 100% safe in your loft! Second, speaking of people hurting others, I'm going to have to yell at you!"

"Why do you want to yell at me?"

"Why do I want to yell at you?" Lanie said as she stood up to accentuate her authority. "Do you dare to ask me why? Right now, you deserve me to confiscate your daughter just for that denial! I really need to remind you that you went alone to arrest a suspect of a double murder while you were about to have a baby! What would it have cost you to go with Ryan and Esposito? You wouldn't have had the most beautiful girl in the world, I would have killed you!"

"I am well aware that I fucked up in this situation! Rick yelled at me too and what I did was the worst mistake of my life! I had a moment of misguidedness, I considered that beyond all things, I had to do justice to these two victims. I also thought that having a baby in my stomach shouldn't stop me from doing my job. I will never forgive myself for endangering my daughter's life." As she said that, Kate started crying. "I swear, sometimes I look at her or Rick and I think I was this close to ruining this family we had such a hard time building. They are the most beautiful thing that has happened to me in my life and I only want their well-being and happiness."

"Don't worry, Kate! Indeed, it could have ended very badly but today everything is fine so stop whipping yourself! You just have to never make those kinds of mistakes again. Now, I just want you to be happy because you deserve it, you both deserve it!"

"Thank you Lanie and know that I will do everything to make up for my mistake!"

FIN


End file.
